


And Then There Were Roses

by NotYourDarlings



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Hunter Dean, Other, Resolution, Unintentional Transphobia, conflicted feelings, nonbinary Castiel, representation week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23332483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotYourDarlings/pseuds/NotYourDarlings
Summary: Dean Winchester is a man very much set in his ways, so meeting Castiel Novak is a shock to the system that he really doesn’t know how to handle- but he’s excited to figure it all out.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Destiel
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	And Then There Were Roses

**Author's Note:**

> This series was created for Representation Week! I am so excited to be participating in this! I am going to try and get as many chapters as I can published this week, and then will be updating weekly after that!

It had been two weeks since Dean first saw them. Two weeks of coming to that same bar in the hopes of running into them again. 

-

They’d first caught Dean’s eye when Dean slumped against the bar, head in his hands as Sam offered him several different solutions to their current witch problem. Both brothers were exhausted. They’d been tracking this thing across two states now, following the path of destruction it left in its wake. Honestly, they weren’t even entirely sure it was a witch. Dean just wanted a drink. He wanted one night where he could forget about the daily torture and torment that came with being a hunter.

And then there was somebody sitting beside him at the bar. Somebody that, at first glance, had Dean questioning everything he thought he’d ever known. Somebody like that couldn’t be human. He knew about creatures that existed that had the sole purpose of drawing men in with their beauty. A siren, a succubus, even a witch. 

“Dean, you’re staring.” Sam’s voice was hushed as he pulled his brother out of an apparent trance, and Dean turned his head back around. There was a look of amusement on Sam’s face now. Sure, he’d seen Dean flirt and ogle at just about every hot chick that would look his way, but there was a red flush to Dean’s cheek that he wasn’t quite as familiar with. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you-” Dean spoke, but then decided to lower his voice, “Don’t you think that’s what we’re looking for?” Sam was taken aback by the serious nature of Dean’s tone. 

“Wha- Why would you think that?” He peered around Dean subtly to look at the stranger at the bar, brows furrowed as he tried to work out what it was that set Dean off. Maybe they had some kind of jewellery or Dean had spotted a weapon. Unlikely, of course, but he’d give his brother the benefit of the doubt. 

“Dude- just look!” There was a bit more urgency in Dean’s voice. Sam was still looking, but he failed to see anything suspicious. 

The person at the bar was tall, slender, and completely unphased by the quite obvious whispering behind their back. Sometimes it was the dyed lilac hair that caught people’s attention, or the piercings or tattoos. That much was fine. Other times, though, the whispers were more cruel. _What is that thing?_ _Why is_ he _wearing makeup? Is that dude wearing a dress?_ They got that a lot too. 

“Dean, c’mon man, I don’t think you’re being very fair.” Sam frowned, satisfied enough that they were not sitting next to the creature they’d been hunting for months, or any other sort of creature for that matter. Dean was less convinced. 

“Why do they look like _that_ then?” Dean asked, a frown deep set into his features. Sam’s eyebrows shot up as he noticed the stranger at the bar turn to look directly at Dean. 

“Because I want to.” Though their voice was calm, there was a certain tiredness to their eyes that indicated that they’d been putting up with crap like this for far too long. Dean sat up straight, eyes wide as he realised that the stranger was talking to him. He didn’t turn around yet, frozen in place as he watched Sam’s jaw clench in annoyance.

The younger Winchester stood up from his stool, following after the stranger who was now hurrying from the bar. How was he supposed to explain that his idiot of an older brother wasn’t _trying_ to be a dick? No, he was just convinced that he was sitting next to a supernatural creature. That didn’t exactly seem reassuring. 

No, Dean didn’t mean to upset anybody. Of course he didn’t, and he did see the error of his ways. If the person beside him at the bar had been a beautiful woman he most likely wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. It just wasn’t often that he came across people _that_ attractive that weren’t obviously women. This was new for him, and he still wasn’t entirely sure what _this_ was. 

-

For cheap whiskey, what the bar was serving up was damn good. Good enough that it functioned as a decent excuse for them to come back to the bar. Or at least, that was the excuse he gave Sam. Not that his brother believed for a single second that that was the real reason. After digging their way out of Dean’s mess, Sam had found himself quite getting along with the stranger at the bar. Castiel was their name- and apparently, they’d grown used to comments like Dean’s. It was the apologies that they were not familiar with. 

Dean watched from afar, drink in his hand. It wasn’t really a routine but whenever Castiel was in the bar, Sam would eventually migrate to the back of the room with him. Normally, Dean would have no problem following after his brother. It was rare that they interacted with anybody outside of potential witnesses or hook-ups, when working a case- so when somebody came along that they clicked with, it was nice. But Dean couldn’t bring himself to join Sam. He couldn’t bring himself to talk to Castiel. Sure, embarrassment and shame was a big part of that, but it was more than that. 

Castiel made Dean question himself. Castiel wasn’t a curvy woman with plenty of skin on show, giving him ‘sex-eyes’ from across the bar. Dean never was a particularly fussy man, but he did have an eye for particularly attractive people. It’s just that nobody like Castiel had caught his eye before. And Dean would never have expected to find himself so attracted to somebody so different. 

He knew that this situation was unique in other ways too. Dean was calm and confident, throwing cheesy pick up lines at the nearest willing participant without even questioning it. And yet, he couldn’t even look at Castiel without tripping over himself. Words just weren’t on his side. Not only was this a million miles from the person that Dean thought he was, but it was a million miles from the person he _wanted_ to be. This was all chick flick and romance, when Dean wanted quick forgettable hook ups. But it’d been two weeks now and he was still fixated on that lilac hair and blue eyes. 

He needed to do something about it. Staring longingly was just too cliche for Dean’s liking. He finished off the drink in his glass and ordered three more, carrying them over to Sam and Castiel. They were too far gone in some conversation about a book Dean had never heard of to properly acknowledge him, which Dean supposed was probably for the best. Today was the day that Dean finally wanted to say something to Castiel- and he figured if he let Castiel speak first, they might not have the kindest things to say. 

Sam could tell that Dean was itching to say something before Dean even knew what he was planning on saying. He looked just as nervous nonetheless. It wasn’t like Dean was particularly well known for his ability to apologise or be genuine with somebody.

“Castiel?” The conversation had died down enough for Dean not to have been interrupting anything. Winging it, apparently, was what Dean had decided to do. The blue eyes that had him so conflicted were looking straight at him now. Somehow, they didn’t hold the same malice or contempt that Dean had been expecting. “I have a question.”

Castiel gave one slow nod before tilting their head to the side ever so slightly. “What is it, Dean?” Sam and Castiel had been speaking regularly enough that they’d explored a wide range of conversation topics. Sure, a hunter couldn’t exactly go into too much depth about the intricacies of their personal lives, and for now they still paraded as the Page brothers, but there was plenty they could still discuss. Dean, however, hadn’t been around for most of that.

“Sammy says I should call you they and them…” Dean hesitated for a second, eyes flicking up to catch the reaction to what he was saying. Castiel remained unphased. “What’s all that about?” He asked, squinting his eyes a little. Sam had given an attempt at an explanation, a loose explanation about being non-binary, but Dean was far from grasping the concept 

Before they spoke, Castiel seemed to take a moment to consider their answer. They’d lost track of how many times they’d given an explanation about their gender, but with the patience and respect that Sam had given them, Castiel figured the least they could do was try and give Sam’s brother a shot, a fair chance at understanding who they were. 

“I mean, it isn’t as complicated as most people think it is.” They began, taking a quick sip of their drink before continuing, “I identifty as non-binary. I don;t really feel like I _fit_ within the confinements of gender. You _feel_ like a guy, correct?” 

Dean nodded, focusing intently on what Castiel had to say. The expression on his face was a snapshot of his brain trying to process the information. 

“Right, well, I don’t. But I don’t feel like a girl, either. I’m just… Cas.” They shrugged slightly, gesturing down to themself simply. They knew what questions usually followed. _What are you_ really? _What parts do you have?_ And yeah, they were questions that Dean wanted to ask- but he decided it against it. He didn’t know what it was, but there was something stopping him. Instead, he was quiet for a few minutes, eyes focused on the glass in his hand. When he looked back up, both Sam and Cas were looking. 

“Yeah. Okay.” He said finally, though there was more, “Look… That first night at the bar, I was out of line.” Dean knew that no apology, no explanation could make up for assuming that somebody was a monster just because they looked different, but he thought that perhaps honesty may do the trick. “I’ve never seen somebody like you I think you’re…. Gorgeous.” 

Even Dean was shocked by the words that Dean’s brain had picked out for him, but Sam’s jaw dropped without missing a bit. Castiel, too, was taken aback by it. Typically, the people that behaved like Dean had done were disgusted by them, but this was quite the opposite. All they could do was give a small chuckle, unsure of how to thank Dean for the compliment. 

“No, I really mean it.” Despite his best efforts to stop it, Dean’s brain seemed to have more to say. “Every bar I’ve been too, I’ve found myself a chick to spend my time with, take back to the motel but…” Dean shook his head slowly, glancing desperately at Sam as though his brother had the powers to get him to stop talking. By this point, though, Sam was more amused than anything, arms folded across his chest as he watched the ever calm and collected Dean Winchester stumble and trip over the words of some grand confession. 

“I don’t know how to say it.” Dean decided, raking his fingers through his hair, “I don’t know how to tell you what kind of effect this has had on me because it is all brand new.” And if anybody could understand that, it was Castiel.

“It’s okay.” They reassured. “I confuse a lot of people. It’s nothing new.” 

“It’s not _you_ that’s confusing me.” Dean interjected, “It’s how I feel.” He wasn’t sure how he was saying all of this to a person that he barely knew, and he was pretty sure that he was due to shut down any moment, but for now- he was giving it all he had. 

“Well, there’s no pressure. Sam said you’ll be out of town in a week or two. I give you my full permission to move on and forget all about the freak you met at the bar.” Castiel said lightly, reaching to place their hand on Dean’s arm, rubbing lightly to reassure him a little. Deep down though, Castiel was intrigued by all of this. To their knowledge, they’d never had this sort of effect on a person, and it was flattering to say the least. 

Dean gave a quiet, uncertain chuckle, turning to his drink for comfort, and a distraction from the light touch on his shoulder that was only proving to worsen his dilemma. “Yeah. Good idea.” He hummed, swallowing softly and trying his hardest to ignore the fact that he wholeheartedly believed that it would, in fact, be a terrible idea. 


End file.
